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This Saturday at Fair Grounds Race Course, there are four major graded events on the race card. The featured horse race is the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes. Open to three-year-old thoroughbreds, the track on dirt is 1 1/8 miles and post time is 7:14 p.m. (ET).
The Grade 3 Fair Ground Stakes is 1 1/8 miles on turf and the prize purse is $150,000. Tiz the Bomb and Pixelate are the favorites in this one. The Grade 3 Mineshaft Stakes is 1 1/16 miles on dirt and the prize purse is $250,000. Tawny Port, Mr. Wireless and King Fury could be the top three contenders of the nine horses entered for this race.
The are six three-year-old fillies entered in the $300,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes. Covering 1 1/16 miles on dirt, Hoosier Philly is favored in this Grade 2 stakes race at 6-5 odds on the morning line and Chop Chop is a second-favorite at 8-5 odds.
2023 Risen Star Stakes Predictions
When: Saturday, February 18th 2023
Where: Fair Grounds Race Course
The Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes has 14 entries, including Victory Formation, Tapit’s Conquest and Curly Jack as my picks to finish in the money. There are also four or five legitimate contenders that can make things interesting on the track for the Risen Star.
Win: Victory Formation
This three-year-old colt is trained by Brad Cox. He raced for Spendthrift Farm LLC and Frank Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc. On Jan. 1 of this year at Oaklawn Park, Victory Formation won the Smarty Jones Stakes over Angel of Empire and Denington in 1:38.14 in the one mile run on dirt.
Sired by Tapwrit, Victory Formation finished first in two preliminary races at Keeneland Racing Course and Churchill Downs. Bred in Kentucky, Victory Formation steps up in distance for the Risen Star at 1 1/8 miles, but his power and speed has led to 3-1 odds in this race. He is positioned at the No. 13 gate and Tyler Gaffalione will be the jockey.
Place: Tapit’s Conquest
Also bred in Kentucky, this colt has raced for LaPenta, Robert V., e Five Racing Thoroughbred and Madaket Stables LLC. He is also trained by Brad Cox and he drew the No. 8 gate with jockey Florent Geroux. Tapit Conquest made his debut as a three-year-old by placing second in an Allowance race at Fair Grounds on Jan. 21.
As a son of Tapit, he finish second at Saratoga on Sept. 3 in a seven-furlong sprint and finished first at Churchill Downs in a 1 1/16 mile MSW race on Oct. 1 in his juvenile campaign. Tapit’s Conquest also has the speed and power to keep up in the backstretch of this race.
Show: Curly Jack
As one of the 8-1 contenders in the grouping, Curly Jack has placed first or second in four of six races as a two-year-old. He is making his three-year-old debut in the Risen Star Stakes. Curly Jack finished second in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 26 behind Instant Coffee.
The three-year-old colt was bred in Kentucky and he raced for Michael McLoughlin. Trained by Thomas Amoss, Curly Jack is starting in the No. 9 gate with Edgar Morales as his jockey. He grading out with a 6.92 rating at Horse Racing Nation for this race.
